It is really difficult to say about your registers because we don't know where you live, do you have heat and a/c through vents. What size registers - they differ by a more than a factor of 2 between small and large. Are they ceiling or floor vents? If you live in Fl and a/c is a fairly constant thing, then you really want big vents so they are quiet. If you live in the North, have radiant heat, then your needs for air flow are much less. Which gets back to the manual D and J's that you need. But given that you are too late in the game to deal with shopping for HVAC contractors, I would over vent and pay extra for it if necessary. I have manual D/Js done but not enough vents in my opinion (partly because I have of a zoned system). HVAC contractors (and yours for sure) like to put in a minimum of vents for obvious reasons. I am getting ready to embark on increasing sizes of vents and adding vents to my master bedroom - oh the joy of blown in fiberglass insulation. My house is less than a year old. I am annoyed by the noise and I have a variable speed blower. Air flow under doors is bare minimum IMO. My doors whistle at high output - I'd do returns in all bedrooms if I had to do it again (and I might add them). Most walk in closets have a vent in my house. The one that doesn't is a bit warm in the summer (east facing single wall with energy star sealing and above code insulation). The walkin pantry with no vent feels a bit cold in the winter (1st floor, single east facing wall). A pantry that is a bit cool is not a bad thing and at least it doesn't get hot in the summer. Neither of these closet issues are enough for me to add a vent - they are small - maybe 5x10. Our master closet has 2 vents but it is bedroom size. We have 2 vents in simlar size master as yours and I'm adding another one.

Marys1000 - Cheap shots? "If you want to think of yourself as a nice person you need to be nice." Are you the only one who gets to decide what is PERTINENT information? From ical71's intitial post: "what really gets me is the comment that came with that - they're (the sellers) apparently worried that we won't have the money to do the necessary fix-ups on the house. It needs a new roof...some new windows, some paint, some ceiling repair, etc. (For the record we do have enough money to do everything)." Later in the thread she states that she has roughly $1600 saved. Posters tell her that is not enough money. Is this the cheap shot? "o.k. we expected the interest rate thing..we put down money anyway ($500) and now they want more?" She later admits that she had a foreclosure 2 years ago. The sellers know that she has bad credit. But she did not mention the foreclosure to them. In another thread she has even suggested to another poster that nothing will happen to them if they let their house go through foreclosure. This is "naive"? This is "nice"? "my three year old son has been in love with that house since we first saw it and asks every day when we're moving in. If I have to tell him we're not moving there, please tell ME we're not moving there so I can break it to him." Nice touch. And, still, people took their time to answer and try to help ical71. Which, whether you appreciate the advice or not, was nice of them. And, probably a bit naive.

What Hallett & CO suggested, that's the place to go. Ordered a few custom grills from there, they do make nice stuff. Just make sure you specify Material-Steel Design-Metal and that it will be used a floor return grill.

Austin Air- If a heating duct to a register isn't called a supply duct, what is it called? Depends on what it's function is. Could you have a register that is designed to supply air? But could you also have a register that is designed to return air to the HVAC system? You started the thread asking about 'return' air. I was talking about return air channels. It's nothing new, they're more common than you think. Whether they are up to 'code' in your area is not for me to decide. I am in Texas. If you're trying to follow code in a certain area --- going to a forum board is only going to lead to more confusion. The above is a vent... notice there is no place for a filter to go. Notice the sheet rock in the back? Notice the sealed boot (ducting) toward the bottom in picture above? Filtered return: notice the cavity in the frame above? That's where a filter goes. That is a 'return'. A return draws air into, returns it back to the HVAC equipment from whence it came. Wall cavities have been used for eons. It's nothing new. You must realize I actually run HVAC calls. I have been in literally thousands of homes over the course of my career. I am a licensed HVAC contractor in Texas. That license didn't happen over night. (Going on nearly 26 years now.) People on this board. (home owners that like to play HVAC guy, really do nothing more than keep me employed... foolishness prevails.) --------- I did not state the following in my initial question, but as I am doing enough work to require a building permit, if I make changes to any system (plumbing, HVAC, electrical), I am mandated to follow current code. When you post to a forum board like this, things offered *may* not be up to code in various areas. If you're wanting to follow building codes in the area in which you live, you need to hire a licensed HVAC professional and pay them to do the work, pull the permits and so on. I follow building codes... but the building codes I follow are for my area. Building codes can vary quite a bit across the country. You'll never find an agreement on these kinds of things in a forum board setting comprised of trying to fit the subject of HVAC into a 2x4 box. It simply will not fit. I service the Katy, Texas area.